I Won't Forget
by MewFanGirl
Summary: What would happen, if the human didn't forget when they turned into a pokemon? Follow Emily, the human turned pokemon as she struggles to deal with the events unfolding around her, with her memories in tact. (MAJOR spoilers for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky)
1. Prologue

**_Hello! Welcome one and all to my newest fanfiction! If you are new to my stuff, I bid you a good welcome, and if you have read the other things that I have up, I welcome you back! This is something that I've had the idea of writing for many years now, and I am excited to have finally gotten started on it. Especially since the whole reason that I finally got around to writing this after all this time is because it's a present for my best friend's birthday…. :3 Anywho! Enough of me babbling! I don't own anything involving the Mystery Dungeon series, enjoy guys!_**

~Emily~

This was it. We were finally ready. My partner and best friend Grovyle and I were finally ready with our preparations to go back in time, to save time. To stop the planet from being paralyzed, and bring sunlight and happiness back to our bleak world. Currently, we're about to go in for a farewell and good luck speech from all of our friends and allies in the Resistance. They're pinning all of their hopes and dreams on us, so the least that we can do is let them see us off.

"You ready, Emily?" Grovyle asked me.

With a deep breath, I replied, "As I'll ever be, Grovyle." He chuckled in response. "What?"

He simply shook his head and replied, "It's just, I'll never get used to you calling me by my species name, not by the name you gave me when we were children."

I smiled sadly as I answered simply, "Neither will I, but it's for safety's sake, you know that."

"I never said that I didn't know why or agree with your suggestion of it, simply that I'll never get used to it," Grovyle replied plainly. "It's something that still is strange to my ears."

I grinned cheekily at him as I said playfully, "Do you even have ears?"

He grinned back at me and pushed me as he answered, "Oh, shut up."

We both laughed for a good long while after that. Once we had finally calmed down, there was a knock on the door to our shared room. We turned to face the door as a voice came from behind it, "Emily? Grovyle? Everyone's gathered in the meeting hall, we're just waiting on you two. Are you ready?"

We looked to each other and nodded, before moving to open the door, to greet one of the members of Team Hope, the last Exploration Team in the Ruined Future, and we replied at the same time, "We're as ready as we're ever going to be. Lead the way."

He nodded to us, then turned and started moving his way down the hallway, with us behind him. We passed by all the other rooms on our way down the hall, before we finally came to the branch in the hall. The way forward led out of the Resistance's base, to the left was the way to the mess hall and the underground training area, and then to the right-which is the way that we were headed-was where the high-ups in the Resistance's leaders' rooms were, and the meeting hall. The further that we walked down the hall, the more that my nerves started playing on me. Grovyle placed his claw on my arm, and when I looked over at him, he nodded and smiled at me. That smile alone caused most of my nerves to vanish in an instant. We were in this together, after all. Neither of us were alone. I smiled back at him and silently nodded back to him, and then we looked ahead once more.

After a moment more of walking-or hopping in Grovyle's case-we were there. The member of Team Hope stopped ahead of us, and knocked on the door to the meeting hall. After he knocked, someone from the other side of the door turned the doorknob, and pulled the door inward to open it. Once the door was open, he lead us inside, and we saw that all of our friends-that have come to be as close to us as family-were waiting inside for us. A smile came to my face as we passed them all: Mawile, the fierce; Graveler, the rustic; Sneasle, the brave; Smeargle, the valiant; among so many more. And waiting for us at the head of the room, were the two other members of Team Hope, as well as the Leader of the Resistance, Blaze the Charizard. Leader's old eyes were on the two of us, and he was smiling proudly at us.

When we were standing in front of him, the member of Team hope who escorted us in moved to go stand by his two companions, and he nodded to Leader once in his place. Leader nodded back before raising his arms and saying, "Members of the Resistance, we have assembled here in this moment, to honor two of our finest, as they are about to embark on _the_ most important and dangerous mission that we've ever had. Grovyle, the grass-type. And Emily, the human." Cheering went across the room, and Leader waved his claws to get everymon to quiet down once more. "Everyone of the Resistance has gathered here in this moment, to watch as our two champions leave to embark on their mission; to save time. We all know the consequences of these actions should they come to pass, and all assembled here agree that it is for the best, and are prepared to accept them. However, therein lies the danger, as Primal Dialga and his forces also know, and would do anything to stop them." Leader looked back down to us and said, "Knowing this danger, you shall still agree to proceed?"

Without a second though I nodded, and I know that Grovyle did at my side as well. "Yes," I answered strongly. "We believe that the end reward is worth the danger."

Grovyle made a fist and slammed it to his chest with a thud as he declared, "The two of us have been through much, and we'll make it through much more. We'll make it through this, and we'll succeed. Not only for us gathered here, but for every pokemon forced to live through this dark world of ours. We'll change it, and for the better."

Everymon cheered for Grovyle's declaration, and Leader showed us a large toothy grin. Leader yelled above the cheer, "Well said, my friends!" Leader turned to Team Hope and nodded to them as he continued, "Now then, everymon here, that have come to treat you as their own, have one final gift for you both." The three pokemon of Team Hope came towards us, carrying two Treasure Bags, and an old Wonder Map. Even at a glance, we could tell that the bags were both filled to the brim with many items, and the map seemed like it was one of the ones from before the planet become Paralyzed. These were some truly precious items.

"As you can tell, these are some precious things that will come in handy to the both of you. The bags and the map are gifts from Team Hope and myself, as they're things that we used personally from before Time came to a halt, and Exploration Teams worked all over the world. The items inside, are from all of your fellow members of the Resistance. They have been carefully packed with items that should come to be of the most usefulness in your mission ahead. Take care of them, and they shall care for you."

We carefully took the bags from Team Hope, as they literally held our comrades hopes and dreams of a better future within them. Grovyle and I looked to each other, and then as we carefully slipped the bags over our shoulders I said, "Thank you." I turned back to everyone who was behind us and added, "All of you."

Grovyle turned to look at everyone else with me and continued for me, "We promise, we won't let you down."

Everyone cheered for us, and as I carefully tucked the Wonder Map into my Treasure Bag, someone crashed through the doors. It was Luxray, and he was out of breath. "Leader! Oh, Leader! We've got trouble, _big_ trouble!"

Leader took a step forward and asked seriously, "What's wrong, Luxray?"

Luxray gasped for breath, and then answered in a panic, "It's the Sableye-a whole _army_ of Sableye! They're just outside the Resistance Stronghold, and they're marching straight for us." He paused just long enough for that to sink in, before adding in, "Sir, Dusknoir is leading them himself."

My eyes widened in a brief moment of panic, and I looked to Grovyle. I could see that he was equally as alarmed. Leader breathed in deep behind us, and then let it out slowly before placing his claws down on our shoulders. Grovyle and I both looked up at him as he said to us, "Don't you two worry. We've been preparing for when they eventually found the stronghold, and prepared an escape route just behind my seat."

I smiled in relief and said, "So that's means that we'll all be getting out of here?"

Leader's smile faltered for but a moment, before he answered, "No, you two will be."

My face fell in surprise and sadness, as Grovyle exclaimed, "But, what about everyone else here?"

He answered calmly, "The rest of us shall stay here and fight Primal Dialga's forces, while you two flee to Dusk Forest, where Celebi agreed to meet you two." We both moved to voice our objections, but Leader looked over to his side and said, "Team Hope, would you see these two safely to the end of the tunnel?"

While they technically don't hold rank over each other in the Resistance, they did always seem to have a hierarchy among the three of them. The leader of them stepped forward and said, "Don't you worry Blaze, we'll see the two kids safely to the other side, and on the right way to the forest." Leader nodded his thanks to him, before he jerked his head over towards Leader's chair. "Well, whatcha waiting for kids? You really gonna dash the hopes that everyone's got on you two by stickin' around here?"

I looked to Grovyle, before shaking my head and answering, "No, we wouldn't dare of breaking the shared dream of the Resistance. Lead the way Team Hope." He nodded to us, and the three members of Team Hope lead us toward Leader's seat. They flipped up the seat to reveal a tunnel that had been dug out behind of it. The leader of Team Hope went into the tunnel first, and then Grovyle followed right behind him. I just was about to follow, when I thought of something. I turned once more and said loud and proud, "Don't worry everyone, we'll make sure that the future is saved. We won't ever forget you, or the sacrifices that you've made, until the very end!"

As I turned away, I saw that every pokemon in the room had smiled to me, before they went back to their preparations for battle against the Sableye. I stepped into the tunnel, and the other two members of Team Hope came in behind me. We started moving, and then I heard the sound of Leader's seat being moved back into its place to hide the hole in the wall. It was just us five.

* * *

After Grovyle and the human had gone through the hole and the entrance was hidden from view once more, Leader began barking orders to the remaining members of the Resistance. They were the last line of defense between Primal Dialga's forces and the kids, and he wouldn't allow for their mission to fail ere it had even begun. The remaining battle items that hadn't been given to the kids were gathered and distributed to all of the remaining pokemon, before moving out of the meeting room to go towards the entrance of the stronghold, where the battle would be waged just outside. As they neared, they could hear the "Wheh-heh-heh's" of the Sableye beyond the great doors. Once everyone had been assembled, Leader gave the order, and they all rushed outside to greet the army of Sableye before them.

Dusknoir was at the head, and when they came outside and saw Leader, he laughed. "So, this is where the Great Blaze has been hiding all this time. I had heard that you were still alive, how interesting to find that the rumors were indeed true. I should've expected that you would be the one leading this feeble Resistance, despite your old age."

Leader took a step forward and with a grunt replied, "Yes, I'm still alive and leading these pokemon who've had enough of Primal Dialga's tyranny. We won't stand for it any longer!"

Dusknoir laughed once more, which made the pokemon of the Resistance's fur all stand on end. "You truly think that you can stand up to Master Dialga's rule? That's cute, considering that you've never tried to face him in battle. As you know that none can do. So, why even try, when you know that there is no true end…" Dusknoir paused, and smirked as he said, "Perhaps it is from your futile attempt to change the past, is that it?"

The Resistance was shocked, the mission to the past was kept top secret from all but their own members, and new members weren't privy to such knowledge either. Leader growled out, "How would you know about such a plan, even if one did exist?"

The Sableye 'Wheh-heh-heh'd' as Dusknoir answered, "For one of the last pokemon to still live from the time before Time stopped, you truly are naive Blaze. Did you forget that the Sableye are ghost-types, and therefore can phase through walls?" The pokemon of the Resistance muttered to each other-clearly, they _had_ forgotten, as the Sableye usually seemed so simple of creatures. "They heard every word and relayed every word you all spoke in your little hiding place back to Master Dialga and I!"

Leader grunted, before replying, "So what if there were a few simple spies hiding from us? There's nothing that you can do to stop us now. Our plan is already fully underway. For all we know? The past could be changed, and Time will start once more in but a few moments from now."

Dusknoir crossed his arms and mused, "Yes, yes. We are ALSO well aware of a certain grass-type pokemon and his companion that you were hiding, who've you sent to go on your little 'mission'. Not to worry though, the _best_ of Master Dialga's troops will be going after them shortly. And when they're caught, you can imagine that they'll be brought to the stockades upon capture." There were angry mutters among the Resistance pokemon. "There is but one thing that will stop them from immediate execution: surrender yourselves, and all of your pointless research now."

Without even a moment's thought, Leader shouted out, "Never!" Then immediately shot a Flamethrower in Dusknoir's direction. Dusknoir smirked once more, as he phased into the ground to dodge the attack. "Grr…"

Dusknoir's voice echoed around them as he ordered, "Sableye, attack! Leave no survivors! I shall chase after the annoyances myself."

Leader attempted to stop him, however Dusknoir had already phased into the ground, making it impossible for him to do any damage to the ghost-type. Not to mention, the battle between the Sableye and the Resistance had begun, making it impossible for Leader to chase after Dusknoir, and save the kids. As Leader fought, he and the other members of the Resistance muttered prayers to Arceus, to please keep the kids-their one, true hope-safe until the end.

* * *

Everyone was silent as we traveled through the tunnel. It was a fairly complicated path, with many forks and diverging paths. I could only assume that it was like this so that if an enemy managed to find the tunnel, they had a hard time figuring out which path would lead through. Grovyle looked back at me, and shot me a small smile, which in turn made me return one to him. It always felt better to me to smile, what with how happy of a person that I usually am. Leader's always said that I somehow am always able to see the bright side of things. Which in a world that is as dark and dreary as ours, is quite refreshing. _Gosh, I hope that he and the others will be alright…._

Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel. It was nice to be out of such cramped quarters, but this also meant that we were now out in the open, and could easily be spotted by unfriendly eyes. The member of Team Hope that had lead the way through the tunnels turned his head towards us and whispered quietly, "It's not very far from the forest from here, but we'll take you just a little bit further so you don't end up taking a wrong turn. And remember: tread lightly. We wouldn't want to be found by unsavory eyes."

Grovyle and I nodded to him in understanding. He nodded back to us, and then turned back forward to continue leading us onward. As we walked, all five of us were alert, and keeping our eyes out for any sign of danger. The most hair upending thing about this though? It was eerily quiet. Even for a world such as ours that was unmoving. It seemed as though, every living creature in the nearby vicinity was holding its breath. And there were almost always pokemon running around living in places like this wild. Having either forsaken or lost their sanity to the darkness that surrounds us. But, there was nothing…

Suddenly, the member of Team Hope that was leading us stopped, and tilted his head to one side. Grovyle opened his mouth as if to ask him why, but stopped when he turned around to face us. "This is as far as we take you two. The forest is just ahead, and you should have no problem finding it if you keep on heading in this direction."

Grovyle and I nodded to him, as I voiced our thanks. "Thank you." I turned to the other two who were behind us. "All three of you. We appreciate the help."

"Indeed. We wouldn't even _be_ here now doing this for everyone, if you hadn't saved us when we first sputtered upon the island. We owe you much," Grovyle added.

"Heh-heh-heh. Just pay us back by bringing the sunshine back, alright kids?" One of them said with a smile.

I moved over to the two who watched our flanks on the way here, and gave them a hug. The other one responded, "Whoa-ho-ho! You're embarrassing me." I stepped back from them, to see that he was smiling as well.

I then kneeled down on the ground, to hug Team Hope's leader as well, and he simply shrugged it off. Reminding us, "Don't forget. Once you two are off of the island and in the past, Emily won't be able to understand Pokemon tongue anymore. You'll have your work cut out for you two, what with the increased difficulty in communication."

Grovyle came up behind me as I pulled away and answered, "Don't worry about a thing. We've managed before, and we'll manage again."

He nodded back to Grovyle as I stood up and he added, "We'll be praying for your safety, and for your success until the very end."

I nodded once more saying, "We know. Thank you. We promise that we'll make everyone proud."

With that, we turned away from the three members of Team Hope, and started heading towards Dusk Forest on our own to find Celebi once more. Neither of us looked back, as this was only the beginning of our long journey. And there could be no turning back, until our mission was finished.

* * *

After the kids started leaving, the three members of Team Hope turned around, and began heading back towards the tunnel. There was a great battle being fought by now, and Leader and the rest of the members of the Resistance would be needing backup.

They were barely out of eyesight of the kids, when their leader stopped and said to the other two, "Alright boys, I want you two to head back ahead of me."

They both looked to each other in astonishment, before turning back to their leader. The one asking, "What about you, Boss?"

He simply shook his head and replied, "I ain't your boss anymore. I haven't been your 'boss' since Time stopped, and the three of us became Team Hope. Now we're all a part of the Resistance, and Blaze is it's leader. The three of us together are his second in commands. We have the same ranking now. And I got something that I got to take care of before I can head back."

The other one shook his head and said back, "Yeah, well. To the two of us, you'll always be our Boss. Ain't nuthin ever gonna change that."

He grumbled as he turned around and said, "Fine. But you boys still need to get back to the stronghold. Blaze'll be needin ya any moment now."

The other two looked at each other, before they looked back to their leader and nodded. The one saying, "Alright, Boss. Whatever you say. We'll be seein' you back at the stronghold for the fight."

The two turned and left. Once they were out of earshot, Team Hope's leader looked up to the blank sky and said, "You can come on out now. I know that you're there, Dusknoir." In that moment, he turned and threw out a Flamethrower attack. Just barely missing the ghost-type.

Dusknoir laughed as he floated out into the open. "So, you knew that I was here all along. Was that very smart of you sending away your only form of back-up then old-timer?"

"Chaw-haw-haw! Those two would've stayed with me to their dying breath. _Someone_ had to save their hides, may as well be their old boss. But enough chit-chat, let's fight!" And with no more words to be exchanged, Dusknoir and the remaining member of Team Hope lunged at each other for battle.

* * *

Not long after we split up from Team Hope, Grovyle and I found the entrance to Dusk Forest. We looked to each other and nodded to each other, not daring to say a word. We entered the forest, and once inside, did our best to dodge as many pokemon as we could. Grovyle was the only one of us who could actually fight, and we were both going to want to save our strength for when we were in the past. There were a few Mismagius' that were insistent on following us, but Grovyle managed to defeat them quickly. Especially after I threw a few Iron Thorn's at them that I had stashed in my pockets.

The first part of the forest wasn't very long, and before we knew it, we walked into a clearing in the forest. I looked around the clearing, not seeing much other than still grass and floating stones. So, typical things in our dark world. I looked over to Grovyle and broke the silence. "Well, this is where we're supposed to be meeting Celebi so she can take us to the Passage of Time, but where is she?"

He shrugged at me as he answered, "I don't know… Let me try calling out to her." Grovyle took a few more steps into the clearing before yelling, "Hello? Celebi? It's us! Grovyle and Emily! Please, reveal yourself to us!"

We stood in silence, waiting for her to appear. After a few moments I mumbled, "She's not coming out… Could Dusknoir and his goons have possibly stumbled across this place by pure chance? Is it possible that she was scared off?"

Suddenly out of nowhere, a voice rang across the clearing. "Scared off? Me? How insulting, sweet Emily! I thought that you knew me better than that!" All of a sudden, right before our very eyes, sparkling lights appeared in the middle of the clearing, and came together to form a shiny pink Celebi before us. She stretched her little arms above her head, as if having just woken up from a nap, before looking over at Grovyle and I with a smile. "Sweet Emily, my dear Grovyle. I've been waiting for the two of you."

Grovyle nodded a greeting to Celebi before responding, "Yes, sorry for the delay. There was a little bit of a mishap at the Resistance Stronghold, just as we were leaving, causing us to have to tread more carefully here, effectively slowing us down."

Celebi beamed at Grovyle and said, "Oh, it's perfectly alright, my dear Grovyle, I understand. I know that you would never keep a cute lady waiting on purpose!"

I felt a giant metaphorical sweat drop fall down the side of my face at that. _She's just a little full of herself._ I took a few steps forward and said to her, "We have to thank you again for this, Celebi. We wouldn't be able to do this without your help."

She turned to me and answered cheerfully, "Yup! No problem. I have something to gain from this too! Besides, I've had quite enough of this dark, dreary, and depressing world. I'd love to see the world of the sun that Blaze and Team Hope have told me all about."

Grovyle took a couple more steps forward, interrupting her from continuing on, "Sorry, but we really don't have time to sit and chat. Dusknoir and the Sableye were about to attack the Resistance's stronghold right as we were leaving, and I can't imagine that it'll take Dusknoir all that long to figure out that something's up. If we don't get going soon, we'll have brought trouble right to you."

Celebi covered for mouth in amusement for a moment as she replied, "Tee-hee! It's quite fine. There is no need to worry your sweet little head. You should be long gone before Dusknoir and his Sableye could possibly find us here. Besides, if you would be so kind as to prevent the planet's paralysis… We'll finally be spared the agony of this world of darkness. Sweet Emily, my dear Grovyle, I will devote my whole life to achieve that end!"

I nodded as I smiled sadly back at her. "Once again, thank you. So, could you lead us to the Passage of Time now?"

She fluttered in a little circle as she answered, "It's nearby, ready, and is just up ahead on a plateau above this forest. Follow me, would you please, tee-hee! Off to the Passage of Time!" And with that, Celebi turned around, and began fluttering her way ahead of us to lead us to the Passage of Time.

We traveled mostly in silence once again. There was too much weighing on us to do much small talking, and we didn't really want to speak of more hefty things that the situation really called for. Once we reached the entrance to the plateau, we didn't want to attract the attention of too many of the wild pokemon. The deeper part of the forest wasn't all that bad for the most part. Just annoying when some of the pokemon inhabiting it would kick up sandstorms that would drain our vitality.

Not long after, Celebi chimed up breaking the silence saying, "Oh! I see it now!" She fluttered just a little bit faster as she continued. "There it is!" Grovyle and I looked to each other, and picked up our own pace so that we would finally be able to see it. We followed Celebi into a giant rocky clearing, and on the far end, we were able to see a little glowing archway, that led back to the rocky wall.

Grovyle and I stopped to look upon it in awe. Very few things gave off such a bright light in this dark world of ours. Once my shell-shock was mostly gone, I took a few steps forward to stand next to Celebi and asked, "So… this is it? The Passage of Time?"

Celebi turned to look at me with a twirl and answered, "Yup! Tee-hee! That's the Passage of Time!"

I stared at it for a little bit longer, before Grovyle came to stand next to me and muttered, "It's beautiful…"

Celebi nodded and said, "Yes, it is, my dear Grovyle. And I'm the only one who can open it! Shall I open the passage now?"

I nodded back to her and answered, "Yes, please do Celebi."

Celebi did a small little salute to us as she replied, "Alrighty, here we go!" She moved up towards the passage of time, did a little twirl in the air and yelled, "Oh great Passage of Time, please open your doors to me. Time to travel to many ages past!" A bright light emanated from Celebi, which caused the both of us to have to divert our eyes. When the light had died down, and we could look again, the passage of time was now open, as we could now see that the glowing archway didn't stop at the rocky wall behind it, but lead into a great vortex of multi-colored lights. "Well?" Celebi asked us. "What do you think?"

I nodded my head to Celebi with a smile as I answered, "It's amazing Celebi! It never fails to astonish me how a pokemon with such a petite form, can have such great powers!"

Celebi did a little pose mid-air and said, "Yes, well. I do _try_." Grovyle then walked up to Celebi, and took her tiny hands into his bigger claws. "M-my d-d-dear Gr-Grovyle? Wh-what are you-?"

"Thank you Celebi. We promise, we won't let you down after all this help that you've given us," Grovyle thanked.

Celebi looked away from him with a blush as she answered, "N-not at all, my dear Grovyle. I'd do anything to help y- the Resistance. Yep! Anything at all to help old Blaze!" _Oh, she's got it so bad for him…_ She then quickly tilted her head up and said seriously, "You two need to go. _Now_. I can sense that some unfriendly pokemon have entered the forest down below, and chances are, it's Primal Dialga's minions." Our faces turned hard as we nodded in understanding. Without another word between us, Grovyle and I entered the Passage of Time, to begin our journey to the past.

The inside of the Passage of Time was a sea of all kinds of different colors that I'd never seen before. As well as large and small blocks and dots of white lights all over the place. The inside was honestly much more beautiful than the outside had been. I turned to look at my partner who was at my side, when I noticed that there was something behind me. I saw something that was dark heading straight for Grovyle's back. It looked similar to a Night Shade, or a Shadow Ball. It was hard to tell, but it was obviously something that would hurt the best friend that I had traveling right next to me. Without another thought, I pushed him out of the way of the attack, and took the brunt of it on for myself.

Pain. That's all I could feel. I could feel my consciousness drifting in and out as I heard him yell in surprise, "Whoa! Wh-wh-whoa…!" I couldn't see him very well, but I could tell that he had noticed my condition. "Are… Are you okay?!" I felt him grab my hand, as he started drifting further away from me. My grip was starting to slip. "No! Don't let go! Just a little longer… Come on! Hang on!" My grip was slipping away even more from the state of unconsciousness that was flooding me. I couldn't… hang on. As he screamed in panic, "N-n-no! I can't… hold on…!" I felt as though I was going to lose something precious if I didn't get a grip on my consciousness _now_. The closer I came to passing out, the more I felt myself losing my grip on _something_ , but what? Then, I realized. The closer I came to passing out, the more my memories seemed to fade from my mind. No! I wouldn't let them go! I won't forget everything we've been through, and everyone that we've met! I won't forget, I won't! "Waaaaaah!" He screamed as he lost his grip on me, and he was flung out from the Passage of Time.

Without a second thought in my mind, I screamed his true name as loud as I could, "LIEF!" I was then flung from the Passage of Time myself, and met with the cold abyss of a raging sea. I did everything that I could to stay afloat despite my injuries, but my body didn't want to cooperate in the way that I wanted too. I felt as though my body had changed, and the best that I could manage was a little Growlithe-paddle, even still dunking under the water multiple times. It was a raging storm with thunder and lightning constantly lighting up the dark sky. I kept getting mouthful of salty water in my mouth, and coughing it back up as I called out for him. "Lief, Lief! Where are you Lief? Please, answer me!" I coughed and sputtered up more water as I fought more against the waves. I couldn't keep continuing to call out for him, if I did, I'd end up drowning.

I felt a rough current drag me under the water, and it wouldn't let me back up. If I the current didn't let me go soon, then I really _would_ end up drowning. By pure chance, a log of wood came rushing by me, and I managed to grab onto it before it went out of reach. My extra weight caused the log to finally break free of the current, and it bobbed up to the surface, bringing me along with it. I took in a deep breath of air and coughed some more. Once I had finally caught my breath, I noticed that with the log holding me afloat, that not as much water was kicking into my mouth. I hung onto the log for dear life, as the waves continued to push me along.

I was so tired, but every time that the water hit my face I was jolted back awake once more. Besides, I couldn't fall asleep until either the storm had stopped, or I had somehow found a way to shore. Suddenly though, when the next flash of lightning shone, I saw that there was a large, dark shadow hanging over me. I managed to turn around just in time to see a giant wave crash down over on top of me and my log, effectively pushing the log out of my grasp, and me further under the water. Either there was a sandbank right here, or I had gotten pushed farther down underwater than I thought that I had, for my head ended up cracking against something solid. And after the injuries that I had taken in the Passage of Time, and how tired I was from fighting against the angry sea, there was nothing that I could to do stop my consciousness from fading away into nothing, and the undercurrent dragging me along to wherever it wanted to take me.

 ** _Whelp, that's a wrap for this prologue here! What'd you guys think? Make sure to let me know what you guys thought by sending me reviews, so I can end up making this new fanfiction better. Thanks so much for reading guys, Happy Birthday again to my wonderful best friend, and I shall see you all next time! o/_**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Hello, one and all! o/ So, ummmm... *looks at the date of when the prologue was originally uploaded in comparison to now* Yeah... That's terrible of me... orz Over a year... What took this so long, you might be wondering? Well, to keep a long story short, shortly after I uploaded the prologue, I ended up getting a new job which left me distracted. Then I ended up getting wrapped up in either writer's block or just straight procrastination, and then you have what ended up happening here. Not to mention, this chapter ended up going through about 3 different overhauls and rewrites, because I'd write something, take a break, come back, look at it and go 'No, this wouldn't work...' then delete all that I had written up and started over again. At any rate, you guys aren't here to read my excuses, you're here for a chapter that's LONG over due, by about 16.5 miles. So then, let's get this show on the road! I don't own anything involving the Mystery Dungeon series, enjoy guys!**_

~Emily~

My head felt heavy as I started coming to. In fact, so did my whole body. "Urrgh…" I groaned. I didn't seem to be tumbling around in the sea anymore. "So where… …Where am I?" Nothing could stop me from wondering, especially since there seemed to be something really bright right before my eyes. I just couldn't seem to make my eyes work, to be able to see what it was. I wanted to see what it was, but, "…I can't… Drifting off… Again…" Then everything faded to black once more.

* * *

Late into the afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to set, a lone pokemon stood atop a small cliff at the edge of a small town looking at a strange tent-like building that was shaped like a Wigglytuff's head. At the building's side, were two cauldrons of burning flames, and long wooden tiki poles with different pokemon's faces carved into it of varying colors. In front of the building before the cowering pokemon, was a hole in the ground, that had a slotted grate placed over it.

The small, orange pokemon stood nervous before the grated hole, pacing in his nerves. He held his flaming tail in his claws as he paced back and forth muttering to himself. "Hmm…" The small pokemon paced some more, before coming to a halt before the grated hole and proclaimed, "No. I refuse to be paralyzed by this any longer! This is it. I have to steel my courage today."

The orange pokemon dropped his tail, and with a small fist to himself, began walking towards the gated entryway. The small orange pokemon was stopped in shock when he suddenly heard someone yell from somewhere, "Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Another voice called back.

The first voice answered back, "The footprint is Charmander's! The footprint is Charmander's!"

The young charmander jumped back in shock yelling, "Waah!" He looked around in a panic. "That was too shocking!" The young fire-type managed to catch his breath after a minute. "Whew…" he breathed, his face suddenly turning sad. "…I can't… I can't work up the courage to go in, after all... I told myself that this is the day, but…" The charmander took hold of the necklace that he had tied around his neck, and looked upon the stone with longing. "I thought that holding on to my personal treasure would inspire me…" He slowly lowered to stone to lay back down against his chest as he shook his head. "Sigh…I just can't do it. I'm such a coward… This is so discouraging…"

The discouraged charmander then turned around and walked away from the strange building, and down the stairs that would reach to the crossroads below without looking back. What he did not know, was that there had been two pokemon, watching him from behind one of the wooden tiki-poles. The one looked to the other. "Hey, Zubat," he said. "Did you get a load of that?!"

Zubat replied, "You bet I did, Koffing."

The perpetual grin that was on Koffing's face grew wider as he spoke, "That little wimp that was pacing around…had something good, right?"

Zubat nodded in agreement as he replied, "That wimp had something, that's for sure. It looked like some kind of treasure."

Koffing turned to look at his friend. "Do we go after it?" he asked.

Zubat turned to look at Koffing in return as he affirmed, "We do." The two nodded to each other, before following the unknowing charmander to where he had gone.

In his stupor, the young reptile ended up wondering down to the beach. The waves were calmly washing up against the shore, and there were many bubbles floating around-thanks to the nearby Krabby-that reflected the sunset's rays off of them in a most beauteous way. The sight of such beauty made the young pokemon's heart soar. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed with a sparkle in his eyes. "What a pretty sight!" He gazed out to the sea where the sun could be seen setting before thinking aloud, "When the weather's good, the Krabby come out at sundown to blow bubbles… All those bubbles, catching the setting sun's rays off the waves… It's always beautiful." The charmander looked out at the sea in silence for a minute before continuing. "This is where I always come when I'm feeling sorry for myself. But it makes me feel good to be here, like always. Coming here is uplifting. It cheers me up."

Out of the corner of his eye, the young pokemon noticed something further down the beach, laying on the sand. He turned to look at it, to see what it was. "Hey… what's that?" he wondered. "What's going on over there?" He walked down the beach to get a better look at it, before screeching to a halt. "Waah! Someone has collapsed on the sand!" he panicked. The charmander quickly raced his way down the rest of the beach to the small brown pokemon he had found and quickly checked on them. "What happened?! Are you okay?" he asked them.

* * *

I began coming to once more, and faintly heard someone calling out to me. "…Ugh… Leif?" I murmured. With a wince, I managed to squint my eyes open again the bright light that was protruding against them. I saw something standing over me, and I moved to try and stand up, only managing to flomph back down onto the sand below me. I tried once more, and managed somehow to sit up. I looked around me, to try and get a handle on where exactly I was.

I jumped slightly as I heard someone say cheerfully, "You're awake! That's a relief!" I looked at the one who was standing before me, to see that a charmander was speaking to me. A pokemon! But… I didn't seem to be at the Hidden Land, so how could that be possible? The magical properties of the island that's connected to Temporal Tower is what allowed me to understand pokemon speech, so is this pokemon special or something? What's going on? The charmander, not seeming to realize my confusion, continued on. "You weren't moving at all. I was seriously worried! Do you remember how you ended up unconscious out here?" I tilted my head at the charmander, he seriously didn't think that it was odd. Talking to a human, that is. Apparently he took that as a cue to continue talking as he said with a grin, "Well, I'm Blaze. Glad to meet you! And who are you? I've never seen you around before."

My mind froze. Blaze? That was the same name that Leader had… Could this little charmander possibly be him in the past? My eyes snapped to the left for a brief moment to see moving water, and what I could only assume was the sun bright in the sky. If this wasn't all some deluded dream, then I really had done it. I made it to the past. And here I was, speaking to Leader before he had even evolved! Is that why I was able to understand him? Because he was Leader? He had always been a rather exceptional pokemon, but could it be that he could speak human tongue as well? I couldn't stay silent any longer, I had to ask something. "How is it that you're talking? I'm a human, so I shouldn't be able to understand you…"

This seemed to surprise Blaze as he jumped slightly and said in surprise, "What? You say you're a human? You look like a totally normal Eevee to me!"

It was my turn to be shocked. I quickly looked over myself, to see that I didn't have hands and feet, but paws instead. I also had a big, bushy tail, and a quick bounce over to look at myself in the reflection of the water, I wasn't greeted back by my face, but by the face of a fluffy-if somewhat damp-eevee. "It's… it's true! I've turned into an Eevee!" I mumbled in quiet shock to myself. How did this happen? Did this happen because of that Incident in the Passage of Time? Leif would never be able to recognize me like this!

I had my mental freak out for a little bit longer, until I heard Blaze mutter, "You're… a little odd…" I turned to look at him as he asked me, "Are you pulling some kind of trick on me?"

I was stunned for a moment, not really sure what to do about my current situation. But, this sort of turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I'm an eevee now, a pokemon. A pokemon's going to draw less attention that a human running around would. If this truly is Leader, then I don't want to get him involved in all of this. It's better if he simply goes on with his life as he was supposed to had the planet not gotten paralyzed. "Y-yeah," I lied. "I'm totally pulling your leg, haha! You totally believed that! Funny…. Right?" _Oh, if only Leif and I hadn't gotten separated…._

Blaze crossed his arms as if in thought as he replied, "More strange than funny, but sure. So then, your name? What's your name?"

"My name?" Should I give him my actual name? I mean, it's not like I'm born at this point in history, so no one would know my name. But… Knowing Primal Dialga, he won't just stand by and let people try to change the past at their pleasure… He's bound to send someone to the past to try and stop Leif and I. And this new form will give me the advantage, as now whoever he sends won't recognize me either. I should just go with my real name. Besides, if I gave a fake one and ran into him again later, it would only give me problems later if I hesitated on responding to it. So, I nodded as I answered, "My name is Emily."

Blaze's arms were still crossed, and he had a thoughtful look on his face as he replied, "Oh, Emily is your name?" He uncrossed his arms as he nodded and continued with a smile, "Okay. Well, you don't seem to be a bad Pokemon, at least. Sorry that I doubted you." A quiet sigh of relief came from my mouth. "More and more bad Pokemon have been turning up lately, you see! Many Pokemon have gotten aggressive lately. Things have grown somewhat lawless…" As if summoning trouble right to him upon saying that, two pokemon quickly came up behind Blaze, and slammed into him. It tossed him towards me, and I quickly jumped back to that I wouldn't be knocked over as well. He landed on the ground hard, and yelled, "Ouch!"

A big grin on the koffing that rammed into Blaze said to him in a voice full of sarcasm, "Well, I do beg your pardon." _He obviously did that on purpose._

And Blaze was able to tell as well, as he quickly bounced back up and shouted in anger, "Hey! Why'd you do that?!"

The other pokemon who rammed into him-a zubat-laughed as he said, "Heh-heh-heh! Can't figure it out?" _Wait… That laugh seems… familiar…_ "We wanted to mess with you! Can't face up to us, can you?!"

Blaze jumped slightly in shock as he responded, "Wh-what?!"

The zubat then turned slightly to the side and looked down at the ground and asked, "That's yours, isn't it?"

The zubat then began moving to pick up the object in question as Blaze replied in a panic, "No! That's…!"

"Sorry, kiddo. We'll take that!" the zubat exclaimed before finally flipping the object in question up into the air, and grabbing it with his mouth.

"Aaah!" Blaze screamed.

The koffing then laughed at Blaze as he said, "Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get that back? What's the matter? Too scared?" _Wait, that laugh too….._ "I didn't expect that you'd be such a big coward!" The koffing then turned to his zubat friend and said, "Come on. Let's get out of here."

The zubat then said around the object that was in his mouth, "See you around, chicken. Heh-heh-heh." The two jerks then flew off into the cave that was at our side, disappearing into it's depths.

I stared at Blaze in confusion for a good long while. _That… was rather strange. He just got mugged, and hasn't even gone after them. Is he not the Leader that_ I _knew in the future then? The leader that I knew was brave, and courageous., he never once flinched in the face of danger! So then why…_

"…Ohhh…" I heard him sniff. "Wh-what should I do?" I turned back to him as he started to shake and tear up. "That's my personal treasure. It means everything to me. If I lose that…" Blaze trailed off, before he shook his head and looked determined towards the cave entrance, in a look that reminded me of the Leader I knew in the future. "No!" he exclaimed. "There's no time to waste! I've got to get it back!" He turned to me once more and asked me, "Hey, can I get you to help me?"

Startled at the sudden question, I jumped slightly and looked at him shocked. _He… he wants my help? But, I JUST became a pokemon! I don't even know if I would be able to help him… I mean, I never asked any of my friends how they knew their moves, or how they even used them! I wouldn't have the first idea of what to do if it came down to a battle against those two… Wh-what should I do?_

Before my train of thought could go any farther down, Blaze declared, "We don't have time to waste. Come on!"

Shaking my head in order to give the quickest response that I could, I answered, "G-got it!"

Blaze then visably perked up at me with sparkles in his eyes as he replied, "R-really? You'll really help?!" _Not like you gave me much of a choice…_ "Th-thank you! Let's go quickly!" We then both raced into the mouth of the cave, after those two villainous crooks.

Upon entering the cave, I immediately saw that the walls were very jagged and rocky, and that there were many water puddles loitering around. _Okay, so there'll probably be a lot of rock and/or water types around here. Not a problem, since Leif is a Grovyle, and therefore a grass type, he should be-_

My train of thought was interrupted as Blaze said, "There's probably a bunch of water and maybe a few types in here since it's next to the shore, so we'd better be careful, what with me being a fire type and all."

"Ha, ha! Yeah, don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for you!" _Crap! I forgot that I'm not with Leif right now. I never really had to worry about those types with him around. This is going to take some getting used to, having a new partner to work with…_ Upon finishing that thought, we began working our way through the dungeon, searching for the stairs.

Upon entering the next room, I saw something shiny lying on the ground. "Huh," I said. "What's that?" I then proceeded to bound over to it, so I could see what it was. It was round, and it was goldish in color. "Hey Blaze, what's this?"

Blaze quickly came over and looked over my shoulder. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "That's some Poke you found there, nice!"

"Poke?" I couldn't help but wonder what that was, since we didn't actually have any of it in the future. Or if we did, we never used it.

Blaze gave me a strange look as he explained, "Uh, yeah. Poke. You know, money? Use it to buy things?"

Oh, right. In the past, they used stuff called money to trade for things like food and items. I remember Team Hope telling me about that stuff at one point. "Oh! Right, right. Sorry, I knew that." Blaze gave me this incogitable look that said that he didn't believe me for a minute. "It's true! My partner that I was traveling with before was the one who mainly handled this stuff before, so I kind of forgot about it!" That wasn't true at all. I was the one responsible for trading for things between me and Leif inside of the Resistance, and any bartering done outside of us was done by other members. But Blaze didn't need to know that. _Sorry for throwing you under the rock there, Leif…_

Blaze shrugged as we said, "Alright, if you say so. Let's move on then." We then continued to move throughout the floor, and ran into a Kabuto and a Shellos. They were a bit problematic at first when I was only trying to use my regular attack, but once I figured out how to use Tackle, things went a bit faster. After those battles, we were finally able to find the stairs, and moved onto the next floor.

The second floor wasn't that different from the first. We ran into a Shellder and a Corsola-the latter of which managed to land a water move on Blaze which spooked me for a bit-but they ended up falling easily in the end. In the same room that we found the stairs in, we also managed to find an Oran Berry, that Blaze used to heal up his damaged that he had taken from the Corsola previously.

The third floor was a bit trickier to deal with. Upon decending the stairs, we ran smack dab into a not too happy Corsola, with a Shellder not too far behind them once we took them out. The next room over, we managed to find a Blast seed, which I happily bit into and used on the Shellder that we bumped into the room following that. I could see why Leif liked using them. Made me feel like a fire-type using that. One final Kabuto was standing in our way in the final room, and then it was down the stairs for the two of us.

The room that we descended right into had a Sleep Seed sitting in it, so I went ahead and picked it up. Blaze said that I should use it into the next Shellder that we ran into, but I convinced him that if we saved it for when we ran into the two crooks, we could use it on one of them, so we could safely ignore them until we took out the other one, to make for a 2-on-1 fight. Not exactly the most noble of tactics, but an effective one none the less, to which he ended up agreeing on. We ran across another Shellos, which once it was defeated, ended up with me suddenly feeling a bit stronger. Blaze then explained it was because we had both leveled up, and I eventually moved on from that. We fought another Shellos and Shellder, and then finally we found the stairs once more.

Upon descending the stairs, we saw that up ahead were the zubat and koffing, so with a nod to each other, we charged forward towards the room where they were now waiting. Once we were fully in the room, with a furious look on his face yelled, "Uh… Hey!"

The zubat and koffing then quickly turned around, surprise etched onto their faces. "Well, well…" Koffing started. "If it isn't our old friend, the big chicken."

Blaze jumped at the bad nickname and a slightly embarrassed looking face as he made a sound, "Urk!" He then took a step forward towards the crooks before us and yelled at them, "Give me… Give me back what you stole from me! That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!"

The zubat who still had Blaze's treasure in his mouth, then spit it out so that he could get a better look at it. "Treasure, you say? So this thing really is valuable, huh?"

The koffing then looked to his friend snickering as he chortled, "It could be worth more than we'd hoped for, I'd say. We ought to try selling it. Who knows?" He then looked back to Blaze with a smug grin on his face. "It might get a good price. Whoa-ho-ho! All the more reason not to give it back!" _Uh oh, not good, not good! If this really IS Leader as he was in the past, then that's probably the thing that I'm looking for. Leader did say once that it gave him courage whenever he was feeling down… If that gets sold off somewhere, I'll never find it again!_

In his shock, Blaze took a step back as he screamed, "Whaaaat?!"

Both the zubat and the koffing took combat stances as the zubat laughed, "If you want it back that badly… Come and get it! Heh-heh-heh!"

As the battle began-as per out earlier discussed strategy-I threw the Sleep Seed that I was holding into the zubat's mouth which was hanging wide open. Before he even realized what happened, he swallowed it, and proceeded to fall asleep, clutching Blaze's treasure between his wings as he slept. I then turned my attention to the koffing with whom Blaze had just thrown a Scratch attack at. The moment I turned towards him, the koffing immediately then turned to attack me. He had good aim, but terrible attack power, as that barely hurt at all. I used Tackle on him to get him back, effectively knocking him out. Blaze then threw another Scratch attack out at the zubat, which caused him to wake up. He went to go attack Blaze, but he managed to dodge out of the way. As a final move, I used Tackle once more, and then the zubat was knocked out of the sky, meaning that we had won.

The two crooks slowly came to and grumbled to themselves. "Owowow…" from the koffing and, "Ugh… We got roughed up…" from the zubat.

The two of them proceeded to pull themselves off of the floor as the koffing cursed, "B-blast… How'd we get wiped out by wimps like them?" _Because the two of you are weak. I've been a pokemon for all of maybe an hour, and even_ I _beat you. What does that say?_

The zubat shook his head as he scoffed, "Bah! Fine, here you go. Take it, then!" He then flipped Blaze's treasure over towards us using his wing, with it landing right in between us.

"Whoa-ho! Don't think you're so awesome. Your victory was a fluke!" _Sure it was, keep telling yourselves that._

"Yeah, you just remember that!" The zubat added in just before the two of them ran towards and behind us, fleeing from the room.

Once the villains were gone, Blaze walked up to his treasure with a sparkle in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Oh! It's my Relic Fragment!" With a giant grin on his face, he picked his treasure up off of the floor, and clutched it close to his chest. He then proceeded to tie it back up into the little rope strands he that had hanging from his neck-probably what had kept the little thing in place before-as he said joyfully, "Am I ever glad… I actually did manage to get it back." Blaze then turned back to me with tears in his eyes. "It's only because you agreed to help me, Emily." He jumped a few times in glee as he beamed at me, "Thank you, Emily!"

"O-okay… Let's say we go ahead and exit this cave. It's a little chilly in here," I said slightly embarrassed.

Blaze blinked back at me, "Oh! Good idea! Yeah, lets go! There should be a shortcut back up right about…" He looked around for a few seconds. "Here!" Blaze pointed to where there was a small crevasse in the wall, that seemed to lead back up to the top. "Yeah, here! Let's go, Emily!" I then nodded and followed along as we headed back up to the beach outside.

Once we were back up at the beach from before, we walked a little down the way before Blaze turned around and beamed at me once more, "Thank you! Seriously!"

… _I only helped because I happened to be there at the mome-time. Time, right, I can say that now. Besides, Blaze was so panicky, that he really didn't give me much of a choice. Was that really the right thing to do? If this really is Leader, then I just stunted some of his personal growth…._ Upon looking up at Blaze's jubilant face once more, I quickly changed my mind. _Nah, it's okay. He's clearly very happy and grateful, besides. This probably isn't Leader in the past anyway, so I can probably use him to get some information for when I find Leif again._

Blaze then stepped closer to me, before taking his necklace off from around his neck and placing it on the ground in between us. "Here's what they stole. This here is a Relic Fragment. …Well, at least that's what I started calling it…"

I couldn't hear anything else that Blaze said as I stared down at the Relic Fragment. _This… This is… The Relic Fragment…_ A moment from my past then began to play in my mind's eye.

* * *

I looked down at the book I was attempting to translate, and back to the paper where I was writing down my translations. Looking back and forth between the two, and then to the other books that I had near me as well that I was also in the middle of deciphering. I looked from all of them once more, before I threw down my quill in frustration.

"Whatever seems to be the matter Little One?" I turned my head, to see that Leader had entered the archives, and was the one who had addressed me.

"Oh," I stated bluntly. "It's you. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Leader simply chuckled as he replied, "It's quite alright Little One." He then moved over to where I was and began looking over my shoulder. "What seems to be the problem that is causing you so much frustration?"

I sighed as I picked up the paper where I had been scribbling down my translations of the Unown language that was in pretty much all of the books I was reading. "It's about this supposed 'key' that's needed to travel to The Hidden Land. In every book that I've read, it talks about needing some sort of key to get there, but it gives one of the vaguest descriptions that I've ever seen! And I've found some pretty vague stuff!"

Leader brought a claw up to his chin before saying, "Allow me to see it." I passed him the paper, and then he began reading aloud from it. "The Hidden land is truly a place one legend. It lies beyond the sea in a hidden place, to protect it from would be invaders. The Hidden Land chooses who goes there, and requires proof of their good will. This proof, shall summon the guide, and allow it's bearer to activate the Rainbow Stoneship. This proof bears an inscription that is unlike any other of it's kind. It is peculiar, odd, and yet intricate at the same time."

"See what I mean, Leader? It's like while the people who wrote these tomes wanted to help people find The Hidden Land, they wanted to play a game with it!" I screamed as I threw my hands up in frustration. "How the heck am I supposed to find something that I don't even know what it looks like?!" I slammed my head down onto the table and screamed into the book that my face landed in. When I realized that Leader still hadn't said anything, I lifted my head and looked at him. "Leader?"

His head jerked up, as if suddenly remembering that I was there. "Oh! Sorry, Little One. I was lost in thought."

I sat back up straight as I asked, "Did you think of something?"

He nodded his head as he placed the sheet back down on the table and reached for one of my spare quills and began drawing something. "I did in fact. Back before time stopped, I had this item that I considered to be my personal treasure. It gave me courage in times of strife, and helped me to become the Explorer that I ended up becoming. It had the strangest pattern on it, and I didn't even remember when or where I had picked it up. The only thing that I knew, was that it had to have led to somewhere special, and I wanted to find it."

"Did you ever find it?"

He shook his head sadly as he answered, "No. I didn't. And when time came to a halt, it turned into dust in my claw. At that moment, I didn't know what to think of it when it suddenly disintegrated out of nowhere. But now I think I do."

My eyes widened in realization. "You think that your treasure was the key? And that when the planet became Paralyzed, that it's duty could no longer be fulfilled, and therefore destroyed itself?"

As he finished his drawing, he passed the paper to me with a smile on his face. "Yes," he stated. "That's exactly what I think." Gesturing to the drawing he made he continued, "That is what the symbol on my Relic Fragment looked like."

I looked at the sheet in detail, and it truly was the most bizarre of patterns. "This explains why it's so vague in the books. It's kind of hard to describe looking at it."

Leader nodded as he replied, "Indeed."

* * *

"What about you, Emily?"

My head snapped up as I returned to the present. Past. Whatever. Time travel is confusing… "Huh?"

Blaze had his head tilted to the side as he continued his question. "What are you going to do now? I found you out here alone, and I've never seen you around here before. Do you have anywhere to go and stay after this?"

"Well, I…"

"If not, can I ask a big favor? Would you be willing to form an exploration team with me? I'm convinced that I can form an effective team with you, Emily. So, will you?" He did a small hop as he put his paws out in a pleading position. "Please?"

I stood there in stunned silence as too many thoughts ran through my head. _Wah! What should I do? I'm getting recruited out of the blue, and I barely understand what it is that exploration teams DO. We didn't have them in the future, and Leader and Team Hope were the only ones that were actually still around from before time stopped that weren't legendaries. The stories that they would tell us didn't exactly paint the BEST picture about what it is they did. What… what should I do? I need to go and look for Leif and start collecting the Time Gears…. But I'm also going to need Blaze's Relic Fragment in order to get to The Hidden Land once we have all of the Time Gears… I could just take it from him now, but I've already messed with history by helping him get it back from those thugs in the first place. He probably wouldn't have the courage to become the great explorer that he'll end up becoming if I take it now…_

I thought for a moment longer, before I finally made my decision. _Leif will be fine on his own. If I happen to run into him along the way, then I'll join up with him and go from there. For now, I'll just stay with Blaze, so I can help him gain his courage, and then get the Relic Fragment from him later once I have his trust. Okay! That's settled!_ I gave Blaze a warm smile as I said, "Sure, Blaze. I'd be happy to form an exploration team with you."

Blaze's face immediately perked up as his eyes began to shine, "Yes? Really? You'll form an exploration team with me?" If possible, his smile got even wider as he began jumping up and down while throwing his hands up into the air. "Yes! Thank you!" He stopped jumping around as he looked me in the eyes. "We're going to be a great combination! Let's make this work!" He then paused, and looked off to the side while saying thoughtfully, "First, we should go to Wigglytuff's place and sign up as apprentices. That's where we need to train to become a first-rate exploration team." He looked back to me with a warm, but excited smile before continuing, "I'm sure the training will be very tough… But let's give it our best, Emily!" Blaze did a fist pump into the air, and I followed suit with my tiny, but adorable paw.

 _ **Yahoo! It's finally done! I promise, the next chapter won't take nearly as long to come out guys. So, what did you guys think? Make sure you guys remember to leave a review, so you can tell me what you liked, or what you think could be made better. You may not believe it, but your guy's review actually give me the encouragement to go writing more of this for you. Anywho, I hope you all have a wonderful day today, and I shall see you all, next time! o/**_


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